In this paper, we investigate the optical solitons of the fractional complex Ginzburg–Landau equation (CGLE) with Kerr law nonlinearity which shows various phenomena in physics like nonlinear waves, second-order phase transition, superconductivity, superfluidity, liquid crystals, and strings in field theory. A comparative approach is practised between the three suggested definitions of derivative viz. conformable, beta, and M-truncated. We have constructed the optical solitons of the considered model with a new extended direct algebraic scheme. By utilization of this technique, obtained solutions carry a variety of new families including dark-bright, dark, dark-singular, and singular solutions of Type 1 and 2, and sufficient conditions for the existence of these structures are given. Further, graphical representations of the obtained solutions are depicted. A detailed comparison of solutions to the considered problem, obtained by using different definitions of derivatives, is reported as well.